Improvement in ships  berths



JNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEc THOMAS F. FORD, OF GREEN POINT, BROOKLYN,NEw YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT To THOMAS SOOTT DIOK, OF SAMEPLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN SHIPS BERTHS, &c.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. ;56,079, dated October20, 1874; application tiled August 17, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS P. FORD, of Green Point, in the city ofBrooklyn and State of New York, have invented Improvements in Ships7Berths, Cabins, &c., of which the following is a specification:

The object of my invention is to limit and control the motion of theberth and so to support it upon a supporting-carriage, and so to balanceit in connection with the free movements of the carriage, that anequilibrium shall always be maintained in the berth while thesupporting-carriage or the vessel moves or sways laterally orlongitudinally, any change or tendency to change from a horizontal levelof the carriage or vessel being met and compensated for by the balancedberth; and to effect these ends my invention consists in the employment,beneath the berth, of a carriage having rails or tracks of' a curvaturein the are of a circle, and on which the berth runs withfriction-rollers, such carriage itself resting by friction-rollers uponother curved tracks located in planes at right angles to thecarriage-rails, the berth thus being supported underneath by the deviceswhich control its motion and preserve its equilibrium, while at the sametime it is hung to jointed guide-frames, which permit its sway to therequired degree, to oliset either the rolling motion or the pitch of thevessel.

In the accompanying drawings, Fi gurel represents a perspective view ofa berth constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a frontelevation, and Fig. 3 a vertical section, in the lines z z of Fig. 2.

A is the berth, to the bottom of which, at or near its longitudinalcenter, are Iixed projecting bars a, having friction-rollers resting onthe track of the carriage C; B, a portion of a vessel, cabin, or otherpla'ce in which it is placed; C, the movable carriage, with curvedtracks, on which the berth rests, and on which it may ride in adirection athwart-ships, to o'- set the roll of the vessel 5 D, thestationary part of the vessel or frame, on which are the curved ways ortracks al d1, upon which the carriage C may move, by means offriction-rollers c c', a limited but sufficient distance in a directionfore and aft, to compensate for or offset the pitch of the vessel. Thefrictionrollers c c are made adjustable, so as to be nearer to orfarther from the center of the frame, according to the degree ofstability required. E E are two jointed and similar guideframes of thinplate metal, the upper portion e of each being suspended by a pin, e',from the wall, post, or other permanent` part of the cabin or vessel,and the lower part e" being secured to the bottom of the berth, at somedistance from its ends, as seen at e. These guide-frames, as will beseen, widen out from their point of suspension, so that at their jointand the line where they are hinged or jointed at 6 to the bottom of theberth their breadth is about or quite equal to the breadth ofsuchbottom. This serves to control the motions of the berth, and prevents itfrom having any improper movement or strain on its own longitudinalcenter or axis, as would be the case it' the connection of such frame tothe bottom were only at or near such center, instead of all across thebottom, as shown. F is a hand-lever, by which the occupant of the berthmay at will, by means of the handle G inside the berth. lock or bringthe berth to a rest or set it free, the levers gg and connecting-rods gg', to which this hand-lever is connected, serving to raise or lower thefoot-levers 1,H H, which are hinged or otherwiserarranged to swin g O11the under side of the berth. The movement of the lever in the directionof the arrow in Fig. 2 serves to lower the levers'H H until they arebrought to or about a vertical position, thus bringing their lower edgesagainst the oor or platform beneath the berth, thus preventing anyfurther movement of the berth, independently ot' thatof the vessel.,r

By moving the lever in the opposite direction, as shown in Fig. l, thelevers H H are raised, and the berth is again free to sway as may bedemanded by the varying movements" of the vessel. l

The back of the berth is made high. This serves not only to give a goodleverage to the lever-handle, but to bring the handle where it is mostaccessible for use and least in the way.

The high back is also more artistic, and gives a better finish tothewhole structure.

The carriage-tracks are curved in the arc of a circle described from animaginary center at a point midway between the points e e from which theguide-frames are hung. The

j curved tracks d d are also in the arc of a circle of larger radiusrbutdescribed from the same center.

It will thus be seen that although my berth rests on the carriage andtracks beneath it, yet all the movements of the berth, as the vesselsways or rocks, are about a common imaginery center of motion above theberth, while by my mode of construction I entirely dispense with allframe-works, devices, or appliances over the berth or over the head ofthe occupant. This is a great advantage, as it leaves all the spaceabove the berth entirely free, and removes all danger of4 striking thehead or body against them in getting into or out of the berth.

The form of the sides, ends, and bottom of the berth are all inclined asshown, the bottom having two inclines, meeting at or near the center.The inclinations of the bottom I make such that each shall be in a planeor line at right angles to the bevel or incline of the end at theopposite end of the berth. The variation of the inclines at the endwould, therefore, in the construction of a given berth, de'- mand acorresponding variation in that inclination at the bottom which meetsthe opposite inclined end. Under no conditions then can the head of thesleeper be swung lower than his body, and a law of construction isafforded applicable to variations of sweep or play which is positive andsimple. rIhe'degrec of these inclines is determined by and adjusted tothe range of motion of the vessel and berth, and the space within whichit may be allowed to sway. Thus, assuming that thirty degrees is themaximum of rolling motion, or athwart-ships, and ten degrees the maximumof pitch fore and aft, the inclinations of the berth are madeaccordingly. Thus all available space between limits, both vertical andhorizontal, is saved for the erection of each berth. The berth in aheavy sea is never liable to project out into the cabin any more than ina calm, and the double-inclined bottom also imparts a gentle curvatureto the mattress, which is most comfortable and desirable for theoccupant ot' the berth. rIhe Y guide-frames E E, being made of broadsheetmetal, admit of being made so thin as to occupy so little spacethat the berth itself may be given the maximum possible length within alimited space to be assigned for a berth.

By avoiding the use of gimbals as a means of suspension and support, itwill be seen that I avoid all obstruction to getting in or out of theberth, and also avoid the necessity of an equal Swingin directionstransverse of each other,whileI arrive at or approximate the bestresults. By giving the double incline to the bottom I not only give tothe sleeper the easiest position, somewhat like that in a ham,- mock,but the inclinations on the exterior prevent the head sinking lower thanthe body when thel ship sways' fore and aft, and also allow plenty ofplay for the frame E beneath it, Y

without causing the frame to arrest its movements, and without hangingsuch frame unnecessarily low. The same principle and method of balancingand maintaining an equilibrium, as above described, for a berth, it isevident may be applied to other things-as, for instance, to a cabin,sofa, chair, table, platform, car, &c.

I claim- 1. The herein-described method of limiting and controlling themotion of and maintaining an equilibrium in ships berths, 85e., bysupporting them upon curved tracks in planes at right angles to eachother in addition to its means of suspension. Y

2. The combination of the berth or balance frame A, guideframes E, andthe transverse movable carriage C, substantially as shown and described.Y 4

3. The system of levers and connecting-rods, combined with thehand-lever F, and with the hinged foot-leversY H, for stopping andreleasing the berth.

4. In combination with the berth, the jointed frames E .E secured by ajoint to the bottom of the berth at points or lines between its ends,and operating as shown and described.

5. The berth, constructed with its bottom inclined gently upward from ator near its center towards its ends, and with its sides and ends alsoinclined upward, the inclination of each end being at right angles tothe inclination of that plane of the bottom 'which meets its oppositeend, all as shown, and for the purpose described.

THoMAs PowNAL Fono.

